Let me start at the beginning for this post.
In the spring of 2001 I was working at what has been my favourite job so far in my career. It was near my home, I was working with some amazing people and doing really interesting work. Each day I got up and looked forward to going to work. I lived not far from my parents and visited with them on a semi-regular basis.
It was during this period my Mom was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She was angry. She was angry because of the disease and what she had to look forward to but she was also angry because of the disease and what it was already doing to her mind. It was causing her to focus on events form the long past with clarity like it happened just yesterday. The disease was in the early stages at this time. My Mom was mostly still my Mom except for the anger. She was disoriented sometimes and she was forgetting how to do some things but mostly she was still the person I grew up with.
In the spring of 2002 the company I was working for closed. This happened just a few months after I had purchased new car and a week into quitting smoking. My Mom was still much the same. At times she would get angry and leave the house. My Dad would call and Lin and I would come over and drive around looking for her. We always found her or she always found her way home but sometimes it took longer than others and it was always a stressful time.
Over time the anger faded but as the anger faded so did a few more parts of my Mom. There was still a tinge of anger in some of her attempts at humour. She was forgetting a few more things and requiring more help but there was still a lot of the Mom I loved there. She wasn't forgetting her family but she was forgetting how to do the day to day things in life. How to make coffee or use the microwave for example.
In February of 2004 I had an opportunity to begin working for the company I am with now. They were much smaller at the time and it was good work with good people and they were flexible when I needed to do some things for my family. There were other opportunities that have come up since that time including other jobs that would have required moving but I have stayed here in Chilliwack for my family.
For the last approximately 2 years my routine most nights after work has been to stop by my parents home and spend an hour or so with them. I was there to help in any way I can. To talk to my Dad because he misses having someone around to just talk about the day and news and life with. Some days I was a referee or peace maker. I listened to Dad tel me how my Mom has been that day and I listen to my Mom complain about her frustrations and I did my best to try and alleviate it some what. For the last while I had also been feeding my Mom at dinner as well as her coordination had deteriorated as a result of the disease. There was a lot less of Mom left in the person that I fed and helped Dad take care of. But sometimes she came out briefly in a laugh or a smile or a smart ass comment. My Dad lived for those moments and as a family when we had them we grabbed hold of them as tight as we could.
Since the beginning of this year my Mom had been getting a little worse each week and month. She has never forgotten me, my sister or my Dad but she was disoriented more often than before. She required more assistance than before. Most noticeably for us there was less and less of my Mom there.
On Thursday June 26th my Mom passed away.
In the end she really wasn't my Mom anymore. There was nothing left of the person who raised me. The person who worried about me and fed me and loved me unconditionally. It's really hard right now remembering the really good things about my Mom because we have been living with the Alzheimer's for so long.
We are having a celebration of my Mom's life next Saturday July 5th . If you knew my Mom please come by and share a story with us. Help us to remember her in better times.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Monday, August 27, 2007
Software Pricing
Last year I purchased Panda Internet Security 2007 as my Anti-Virus, Anti-Spam, Personal Firewall solution. It is coming up for renewal in the next couple of weeks and that got me looking into renewing and upgrading.
Here is the problem I ran into.
When checking the Panda Store I found that as a Canadian I am charged more to download their software than if I were from the United States. If you choose Canada as your location the cost for their Panda Internet Security 2008 is $88.95 for a download version of the software licensed for up to 3 PCs. Now if I change my country to USA the price becomes $69.95 US.
Now taking into consideration the current Bank of Canada exchange rate $88.95 Canadian works out to $84.59 US. A difference of $14.64 US.
So I wrote an e-mail message to the Canadian Sales address asking about the discrepancy. They have had one business day West Coast time to respond and I have yet to hear back from them.
I know I can go through the US side of the store and purchase the product that way for the lesser price but why should I have to. It does not cost them any more to make, stock or ship the download version to Canada than any place else in the world yet they want me to pay a higher price because I am in Canada.
Before the Internet when everyone purchased their software at stores, software companies could get away with charging more for the same product in different countries. In today's global marketplace the companies that respect their customers and treat them as educated consumers will be the ones that survive long term. This means realizing that your customer can easily find out what others are paying for your product. Companies which cling to old ideals will lose market share and unless they adapt will perish eventually.
I am only asking that we be treated as educated consumers. eBay can display prices in US and Canadian currencies and the Canadian price will change with the exchange rate. Why can't the Panda store do the same? They have different store setups for different countries it really would not be that much harder to code in a standard price based on the US dollar and conversion to the local currency for the country chosen.
CA has one site for the US and Canada which avoids the issue entirely. Kaspersky also has one site for both countries and therefor one price for their software.
Panda is not the only company that doesn't get it. McAfee also has problems with their pricing between countries. This time it actually almost favours Canadians. Check here and you see that for $79.99 Canadian you get a 3 User License for McAfee Internet Security Suite. But here you can purchase a single user version for $49.99 US or a 3 user License for $69.99 US after rebate.
It is time that many companies doing business on the Internet began to realize that the people shopping online are smart and deserve to be treated as such. It is also time that we as consumers started to user our power to force companies to change their behaviours. If a company treats you like you are stupid or charges you significantly more based on where you live don't buy from them. Take your business to a company that respects you.
Here is the problem I ran into.
When checking the Panda Store I found that as a Canadian I am charged more to download their software than if I were from the United States. If you choose Canada as your location the cost for their Panda Internet Security 2008 is $88.95 for a download version of the software licensed for up to 3 PCs. Now if I change my country to USA the price becomes $69.95 US.
Now taking into consideration the current Bank of Canada exchange rate $88.95 Canadian works out to $84.59 US. A difference of $14.64 US.
So I wrote an e-mail message to the Canadian Sales address asking about the discrepancy. They have had one business day West Coast time to respond and I have yet to hear back from them.
I know I can go through the US side of the store and purchase the product that way for the lesser price but why should I have to. It does not cost them any more to make, stock or ship the download version to Canada than any place else in the world yet they want me to pay a higher price because I am in Canada.
Before the Internet when everyone purchased their software at stores, software companies could get away with charging more for the same product in different countries. In today's global marketplace the companies that respect their customers and treat them as educated consumers will be the ones that survive long term. This means realizing that your customer can easily find out what others are paying for your product. Companies which cling to old ideals will lose market share and unless they adapt will perish eventually.
I am only asking that we be treated as educated consumers. eBay can display prices in US and Canadian currencies and the Canadian price will change with the exchange rate. Why can't the Panda store do the same? They have different store setups for different countries it really would not be that much harder to code in a standard price based on the US dollar and conversion to the local currency for the country chosen.
CA has one site for the US and Canada which avoids the issue entirely. Kaspersky also has one site for both countries and therefor one price for their software.
Panda is not the only company that doesn't get it. McAfee also has problems with their pricing between countries. This time it actually almost favours Canadians. Check here and you see that for $79.99 Canadian you get a 3 User License for McAfee Internet Security Suite. But here you can purchase a single user version for $49.99 US or a 3 user License for $69.99 US after rebate.
It is time that many companies doing business on the Internet began to realize that the people shopping online are smart and deserve to be treated as such. It is also time that we as consumers started to user our power to force companies to change their behaviours. If a company treats you like you are stupid or charges you significantly more based on where you live don't buy from them. Take your business to a company that respects you.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
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